Here I am Boston!

Hello my mom and family!

         Yes, it was SO great to hear from you all last tuesday! It was so hard for me to cut you off like that to get on the plane, but I had to. For some reason they were loading early, but we got there right on time. So things have been super crazy since we last talked! I've met my trainer Elder Badger ( I think President Packard was supposed to send a picture of us that he took the first night we were there.. did you get it?), have already spent many days walking and talking to many Haitians, and getting used to our new district/zone. I just sent a letter with most of the news on how things have been going, so I don't want to repeat, but it's been overwhelming and great at the same time. There is so much for me to learn and so many people I need to get to know, but I'm happy. Logically there is no reason for me to be happy. I'm in a strange new place, trying to speak a language I don't know, preaching a gospel I'm still trying to understand. But I'm happy! The Lord is definitely blessing me with enough courage and strength to push on, but letting me do the work and figure it out on my own at the same time. Things have been great though. I've been able to have tons of super delicious Haitian food already, and I've gotta say it's one of my favorite foods now. They all make rice with sos pwa (bean sauce). It's like refried beans but really liquidy and more seasoned delicious. They also make those fried plantain chips called banan peze we had at the Petersons every time, and usually serve it all with some kind of chicken. AHH it's soo good :D. This week is going to be hard though, cause only two people signed up to feed us. But we're still very grateful for that. Well family, I don't know how much time I have left on the computer. The library computers automatically log you off after a certain ammount of time and will delete your email, so I'm going to end it now just to  be sure. I'm sorry I couldn't say more this time, but most of my feelings I wrote in the letter which should get there soon. And mom, our president allows violins, so if you could somehow ship mine here that would be great! I miss that thing so much. I also need my retainer, and If I could have that hat that grandma and grandpa  gave me, that'd be great too! They're kinda in style up here among the missionaries :D. Well family, I love you all tons! I'll make sure to write more next time, and collect my thoughts so I can remember what to say. Renmen ou tout anpil!

             Love Elder Davey 

Lost and Found

Hello Family! Man, it is so awesome to hear how you all are doing every week. Every time I open up my email on p-day and see an email from you, I do a double fist pump in the air and audibly let out a joyous laugh. Seriously. Every time. I love you all so much! And mom, don't worry about making me distracted with all of the information from home. I promise you I remember my missionary purpose 24/7. Nou bezwen envite lot moun pou yo vin jwenn Kris nan edè yo resevwa levangil retabli atreve lafwa nan Jezikri ak Ekspyasyon Li, repentans, batèm, resevwa dòn Sentispria, ak pèsevè Jiskalafen (missionary purpose in creole).  It's actually kind of the other way around, when I don't know what's happening, I tend to dwell on home more, but when I'm updated I can put that to the side and focus on the Lord. Sorry, but I do have to put you to the side when I work. I love you all, but I love the Lord more :).

             So yeah, things here have been pretty great lately. I got over the sickness after about 3 days, and was super excited to get back to work. The sickness that I had was spread throughout the MTC, and 70% of the MTC got it. It was crazy, but it's over now and everybody is getting back to work. Things have been pretty normal this week. The biggest thing is that we're leaving next tuesday! Oh my goodness, I'm so excited. Yesterday our teacher showed us a bunch of pictures from his mission, and our excitement skyrocketed. We all can't wait to get out there and teach real people. It's been great to teach our mock investigators, who are our teachers, but I'm just excited to teach some people who are really desiring the gospel. Our lessons here have been going great though. Elder Kelley and I actually baptized our two mock investigators, and we're just ready for the real thing! We're all getting kind of nervous, which is good. It's showing that we still know we rely on the Lord for everything. But we're reciving tons of strength and excitement for this work at the same time.

             So another great thing that happened this week is I found my scriptures! Yeah, I don't think I ever told you, but I lost my scripture set the second week we were here. I haven't had my D&C, pearl of great price, or bible this whole time. I had just bought a little coat-pocket-sized Book of Mormon that I've been reading. For these last two months, I've been praying and fasting so hard to be able to find them. About a week ago, I was praying while I was sick to be able to find them, and felt a feeling of comfort come over me, and felt that I would find them. It was so crazy! It was the first time I had ever recieved a prompting like that. I'd felt the spirit before, but I had never before been able to have a whispering like that. I just felt like I shouldn't worry about it anymore, and that I'd find them. So, as we were doing service one day, I decided to ask the service manager if there was a lost and found anywhere. I hadn't done this before because the main lost and found is in the mail room, and they told me that every week they empty all the little lost and found's into the main one in the mail room, and they never had it in the main one. But I asked him anyways, and he told me where it was. So I went in there, dug around some old jackets and sweaters, and found my precious scriptures! I can't even describe how joyous I was after that! I think I smiled for about 2 hours straight, and hugged that set for even longer. I never would have guessed before my mission that my old set of scriptures would have made me that happy, but they did! I've had those since I was 8, and the thought of never seeing them again made me sick. So yet another prayer of mine has been answered during my 2 months here at the MTC. The Lord knows us so well! Heavenly Father hears each and every prayer we give, no matter how big or small it is. He knows how we're feeling and what we need, and He's in control of everything! It's so comforting to know that.

               So yes, things here have been pretty great. I'm sorry that I havn't been able to send out a "big-o" letter yet. I just haven't had any time at all! I mean right now i'm at -2 minutes, and I've got laundry after this, so this week's letter might be shorter, sorry! It will come though, I promise it! But no worries for now, we'll be able to have a BIG-O telephone call on Tuesday when I'm in the Salt Lake City Airport! (Or Aywopo in Creole, way more fun to say then airport :). I'm so looking forward to hearing all of you! It's going to be awesome!

               Oh, another thing. I'm going to be sending home the french text that they gave us, along with the Christmas tree and some other goodness. They gave us french text because that's the way they used to do it, but we're never going to be using french. But I don't want to leave behind the books, they've got some awesome stuff in them. So I'll send them home and learn french when I get home. Yes, that's actually the plan, I'm going to learn french too. After seeing how much the Lord can help you if you pray for the gift of tongues, I want to learn more languages! And Michelle, when the books get home, you should read them and study them. If you really want to learn french (not just learn it to pass the next test, like I did in school with spanish, but really learn it to speak it) YOU can pray for the gift of tongues, and recieve it! It's not just for missionaries, you can have it too! If you earnestly seek to learn the language, read the book of mormon in french (which i'm sending home), and study hard, you will be helped! And if you really still want to serve a mission some day, you have a high probability of getting called to a french speaking mission. Almost all of the french speaking missionaries here spoke french in high school. So you should study them too, it's so much fun, I promise! It will help with everything you're doing in your french class and more, plus if you get called to be a french speaking missionary some day, you'll already be a beast :).

            Well family, I've got to go. The next time that I email you, I will be in Boston with a new companion in a new place teaching real investigators. So, goodbye for the last time from the MTC! Talk to you all later in the airport, and from Boston!

               With much love,

                            Elder Brandon Davey

Swine Flu

  Bonjou, fanmi mwen!!
                       Koma ou ye jodya? (How are you today?). Bon Ane (Happy New Years! Or literally meaning good year..) So I'm sorry I wasn't able to get out an e-mail out last night, it was kinda a really difficult day. So yeah, other then last night, nothing really too big has been happening here. Elder Kelley and I are getting better at teaching and speaking Creole. We're at the point now that we can understand just about anything in creole, and can carry on any kind of conversation. There was one night we had companionship inventory (where we talk about the good thins and things we need to work on in our companionship) completely in Creole. It was so cool! I'm just trying to work on the accent now, because everybody says I sound spanish when I speak. Dang two years of high-school spanish! 
We've been having more and more fun though. Me, Elder Kelley, Elder Harper and Elder Winslow have started doing public prank kinda things in the cafeteria. I guess these 4 sister missionaries sat next to Elders harper and winslow one day, and only talked to elder harper. Elder harper felt so awkward, so we decided we'd make him feel better and all of us would sit next to them and make the most awkward situation as possible. We couldn't find them the next day, so we chose a random group.  We all sat down next to them, and started doing Elder Kelley's "Bruffus dance", where you rock your shoulders back and forth and spoon air food into your mouth, in black man fashion. It was so hilarious! 
But yeah, like I said, not too much has happened this week (man, my creole is taking over... I almost put "semen sa", meaning this week). The most eventful day was probably yesterday. So on Wednesday, they made an MTC-wide announcement that nobody was to shake hands or hug anymore. One of the elders in our group went and talked to president Hacking, one of the mtc presidents, and was told that there was a huge swine flu outbreak going on. I don't know if this is nation-wide like it was a couple years ago, but it's pretty big in the MTC right now. So yesterday I woke up at 5 in the morning... and discovered that I was blessed with the wonderful trial of swine flu (at least that's what the president said, the doctor wouldn't tell us directly what we had) :). Yep, I was brought to remembrance of my recent eatings, it was fantastic. Elder Kelley tried to tell me that I wasn't sick, but that was obviously wrong. So, I stayed behind with Elder Deweese, who also had it pretty bad, and we rested a bit more in the morning. At about 10, we went to the health clinic, along with about 20 elders and sisters. This sickness was so bad that half of the elders and sisters couldn't sit down, and had to lay on the floor (including me). It was such a sad sight, but it was kinda hilarious. For some reason, my sense of humor kicked up that day, and I was laughing and joking at just about everything, probably to make up for how boring everything was. Like when healthy elders would come into the health clinic, I'd tell them "get thee hence from this unholy place, please! Save thine self!". It was pretty fun. but yeah, apparently this was a big deal. 60 missionaries had called in the night before about throwing up everywhere, and there are only 2 branches out of 56 in the mtc that don't have somebody infected with this. It's crazy! So the doctors gave us Gatorade mix, anti-nausea, anti-diarrheal, and told us to get rest. So, I went back and tried to drink the gatorade mix.. But it came up about an hour later. Family, don't ever get the swine flu.. It's terrible! I don't think i've ever cried from the pressure of vomiting. But on the bright side, I got instant abs. But yeah, the rest of the day consisted of Elder Deweese and I slowly drinking the mix, resting, talking about games, and resting more. It was such a boring day! I want to get back to working! I was just glad that I was able to talk to somebody who also had the sickness. It would have been so hard to go through that by myself. I was glad it was Elder Deweese too. He's a huge nintendo fan, and we were able to talk about games for a long time, it was pretty fun. But today i'm feeling alot better. I don't feel nauseous anymore and no more headache.. the only thing I have to deal with now is the diarrheas and the 2-day ban from class which is terrible. But all is well!
 I'm actually really glad I was able to have this trial. It brought me down to remembrance of my Savior, and his atonement for us. At times when I felt like I wanted to die, I remembered that he atoned for all I was feeling, multiplied by everybody else's pains, and I would put my trust in him. It just helped me remember how much we all rely on Christ, and how incomprehensibly amazing his atonement was, and how much we all rely on him. Well family, I've got to get going. I want to hear how you all are doing though! What are your plants if you're not going to move? Is dad going to do stay there for a week at a time thing? cause driving there 2 hours a day would be tough! How was Christmas? What did you all get? I want to see pictures too! Well, I love you all so much. Sorry if my spelling was terrible in this letter, and if thoughts were scattered. I've been in bed for a day and a half. Write me soon! Renmen ou tout anpil! ( Love you all lots!)
                                              Love,
                                                  Elder Davey

Christmas in the MTC

Elder Davey has survived his first Christmas away from home.  Actually, he appears to have THRIVED!  Seeing his goofy smile in these pictures was a gift in and of itself. 

No doubt he loved having his "home away from home" all lit up!

Elder Davey and his awesome companion, Elder Kelley.  These two are having a whole lot of fun as they prepare to preach the gospel.

Maybe a little bit of role playing?  

A scripture and treat a day to keep the Christmas blue's away.

This little tree couldn't have made Elder Davey happier.  It's been around the world and came to rest at the MTC with him.  Hid dad celebrated Christmas in Afghanistan with it a few years ago, but it didn't sport the cool star back then.  Origami is one of Elder D's hidden talents.

Merry Christmas!

Elder Davey shared some of his thoughts in his latest handwritten letter:

"Today we just had a devotional by Russell M. Nelson and WOW, I felt the spirit so strong.  I just felt so warm and comforted. It was so cool!  After that, I came back and opened up that AMAZING box of stocking goodies and the glasses and alarm clock.  Thank you so much family!  That was so great.  It made my day!  Me and a bunch of elders had so much fun eating those mealworms and alligator jerky..... it was awesome!  So yeah, my day has been great so far.  I got to wake up at 5 AM and go do laundry... it was great!!  Ha ha but yeah, it's interesting.  The natural man in me would be so devastated to be away from family and fun on Christmas, but I'm being spiritually uplifted just for being out here, and I'm so happy.  I've been able to overcome all of the struggles and trials I've been given, and I'm growing stronger each day.  As I've endured the trials and not given an inch, I've been blessed with strength.  I'm sure you've noticed this too, as you've gone through the trials that have come.  If you haven't felt that love yet, I testify it will come!  One scripture I've loved lately is Alma 34: 40-41.  It's just so comforting to know that someday all will be well if we endure our trials well."

Well said, Elder Davey!  And, well lived.  :D

Christmas in the MTC

Elder Davey's P-day is on a Tuesday.  What a great coincidence that Christmas was on a Tuesday too!  I don't know, maybe all of the Elders got to write home since they weren't allowed to call, but it sure was a treat to hear from him.  Enjoy this letter and the testimony he adds at the end.    

Jwaye Nwel!!!! (Merry Christmas!!!)

 

 

                    Dearest family of mine! How are you all on this fantastic Christmas day? I can just imagine you all now, sitting around each other in the living room, opening up gifts and listening to christmas music. AH I have such great memories of those times. I just wrote a letter to you explaining more about my day today, so instead of repeating exactly what I said, I'll just summarize by saying that spiritualy, today has been one of the most uplifting days ever. I'm not even doing anything really different, I'm just feeling so much love from my Savior. This morning we got to hear a devotional from Russell M. Nelson, and the whole time I just felt warm and loved and exploding with spiritual joy. Dad, you weren't lying when you said that the Lord takes care of you on Christmas. It's awesome! So on top of this spiritual uplifting, I LOVED all of the gifts you gave me, thank you so much! I couldn't have a better family :D. That 12 days of Christmas thing was so great, and definitely helped me on my rough days. I think I've used every single one of the items (except for the ear plugs, but I think I might tonight, because Elder Kelley is starting to sleep talk in creole, it's hilarious but it keeps me up haha). And then that stocking was the coolest thing ever. Me and a bunch of the elders in my district had so much fun partaking of insects and alligators. Way fun! Oh yeah, and Elder Kelley and I rejoiced mightily (man, I'm sounding too much like a missionary haha) when we got the alarm clock, it was much needed! My watch alarm is a lying little devil some nights, and just wants to not wake me up. So yeah, things have been pretty great here. Elder Kelley and I are getting used to our zone leader responsibilities slowly. This last week we had to give orientation to 29 new elders and sisters. It's crazy how much the Lord is blessing us, because normally I would be kinda nervous about doing something like that, but we did great, and are loving serving everybody. Well family, I've got to go, they're only giving us 20 minutes today, but i just want you all to know how much I love you, and how much I'm thankful to have all of you as a family. The more I learn about the plan of salvation, the happier I am when I realize it's reality, and realize that we will have an eternity of togetherness! Can't wait for that. Well, I want to leave you with my Creole testimony. Mwen vle bay temwayaj mwen, mwen konnen ku Jezikri ak Bondye renmen tout moun, ak ku tout moun se petit Bondye. Mwen konnen Jezikri te mouri pou tout nou nan jaden getsemmane, ak paske sa, nou ka repanti pou peche nou, epi kekjou, nou kapab tout viv avek chaklot nan wayom celes. Mwen konnen ku liv momon an vre. Mwen konnen pwofet Thomas S. Monson se yon pwofet vre, ak gide legliz Jezikri jodyia, atreve gidans Bondye. Ekspyason Kris la se tre impotan pou nou, ak nou tadwe utilize sa, donk nou kapab vin pwop ak libere de peche. Nou kapab vin livere de kilpabilite ak lawont, epi jwenn lapè ak bonè. Mwen gen yon temwayaj de tout sayo bagay, ak mwen di sayo bagay nan non Jezikri, amen. Well, there's a piece of my testimony. I've got to get going, but everyday I get more excited to talk to you a few weeks from now, when I leave for Boston from the airport (by the way, me and Elder Deweese, the other elder that is going to boston with me, got a postcard from the haitian creole speaking boston elders, it was way cool). It's coming so fast! Well, got to go. Love you all! Bye!!

                               Love,

                                  Elder Davey

In living color

The letter I had been waiting for for weeks finally arrived!  That would be the one with the memory card from his camera.  ;)   We got a brief glimpse into his world at the MTC and I was visually assured that he was alive and doing well.  Mom's need that kind of thing from time to time.  

Elder Davey and his district in front of the Provo temple.

The tags he will be wearing for the next 2 years.  The first one will probably be his main one.

Elder Davey and his companion, Elder Kelley.  They are loving their companionship and assignment as zone leaders.

The Haitian language classroom.  I was hoping I would get a picture of Elder Davey actually inside of it!

This is a little taste of what Elder Davey is learning from Preach My Gospel.  No wonder he is praying for the gift of tongues!

Looks like Elder Davey is being photo bombed!

I promise, he sounds a lot happier than this picture would have you believe.  But a 19 year old still has to look "cool" I guess.  ;)

 Elder Davey isn't one to like too much attention, so asking others to take pictures of him is tortuous.  But, he has been gently encouraged to wield his camera with a little bit more boldness.  We look forward to seeing what comes next!

Highlights

  My Dearest Family!

                       Hello! How are all of you!? Man, I first off need to apologize, I wasn't able to mail a letter last week like I hoped too. I think P-day just started to get really busy. I havn't even been able to write anybody other then you guys. I think it's mostly because the temple takes up about 3 hours of our P-day, and we only have 4 hours after that for free time/ laundry, so i'm usually rushing. But for our remaining P-days, we won't be able to go to the temple because it's closing to let the Temple workers enjoy Christmas. So i'll definately be mailing off some more lengthy letters then usual, which will be great! I always have so much I want to tell you all, but never have the time! things are so busy here, but i'm loving it so much.

                        So the days are running together like crazy. Every day feels exactly the same, and it's super hard to think back on specific things that have happened. For me, my cough is getting a lot better. I'm still coughing up phlegm (which is the worst thing ever in the middle of a discussion with an investigator), but it's getting alot better. Elder Kelley and I are getting closer by the day, and he's made up his mind that he'll be going to byu-i with me when we're done with the mission. We've had some pretty great experiences this last week. We got to finally act as zone leaders, and give a new sister orientation, and help her learn about everything she needs to know here. So yeah, we're basically pro's now :). Except not really haha we've made a few mistakes, but we're loving the leadership opportunity. So I've got a highlight of the week. This is a more serious one, and actually probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. It was another prayer that was answered in the temple. So after the temple session, I was praying hard for the gift of discernment to help me with my zone leader duties, and for the gift of tongues to help me learn creole. Once I finished, our district started to head back to the lockers to get our stuff, when Elder Elliott turned the wrong way and went into the wrong locker room. Since all elders need another elder with them at all times, and since his companion had gone on without him, elder Kelley and I went with him. We ran after him to tell him he was going into the wrong locker, but noticed he was talking to somebody. We realized he was just meeting up with an old friend or something, and started to talk with each other as we waited. A couple minutes went by, then a man randomly came up to us and asked, "what language are you elders speaking?". Without thinking, we answered Haitian Creole. He answered "Oh, that's great. Good luck", or something like that, then walked away. Once he walked away, we started to wonder why he asked us that. We didn't have our name tags on, so he couldn't see the foreign language written on it, and we weren't speaking creole. At least we thought we weren't. Family, elder Kelley and I are convinced that we were blessed with the gift of tongues that moment. We thought we were speaking english, but why else would some man ask us what language we were speaking? If we were speaking english, he would have asked, "are you going to be speaking a language on your mission?". But he didn't. He asked what language we were speaking. What makes us even more convinced is that we can't remember a thing we said during those two minutes. We can remember what we said before, and what we said after, but not during those two minutes. We could be wrong, and it could have just been a guy randomly asking us that, but we're both very convinced that the Lord was blessing us, and letting us know the kind of things He can do for us if we show faith and work hard. A couple other little miracles happened while we were in there, like I met a haitian woman who worked in the laundry room who is the daughter of the bishop's wife in Boston. She was eccstatic to meet me! She said she had been waiting to meet a boston massachusetts Haitian speaking missionary, and was so excited to meet me. She said I'll be fed by her mom the very first night I'm there, and that my skinny stature will be completely gone in a few weeks :). It was such an amazing trip. Elder Elliott also lost his key to his locker, and about 5 minutes later, went back and found it in the locker. So many little tender mercies that the Lord is showing me. It's so great! I love this church so much, it is so true! Well family, i'm now at -9 minutes, so I have to get off, but I promise i'll send a letter, along with a memory card with pictures. Love you all so much! Goodbye!

                     Elder Davey.